The All Nighter is a night bus service network in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Portions of the service shadow the rapid transit and commuter rail services of BART and Caltrain, which are the major rail services between San Francisco, the East Bay, the Peninsula, and San Jose. BART and Caltrain do not operate owl service so that track maintenance can be performed; the All Nighter network helps fill this service gap. The slogan is, "Now transit stays up as late as you do!"
Contents |
The service launched initially in December 2005, and fully launched in March 2006.[1] BART and Caltrain riders who previously faced uncoordinated substitute bus transit service after midnight can now take advantage of the coordinated All Nighter bus service.
The service is operated by AC Transit, Muni, SamTrans, and VTA. The agencies have a network of timed transfers, and half-hourly weekend service was implemented between downtown San Francisco and several BART stations along the Richmond and Fremont lines. AC Transit Route 800 operates along Market Street in San Francisco; this is the first AC Transit route to operate anywhere within San Francisco beyond the Transbay Terminal.
The service is funded by Regional Measure 2, which voters approved in 2004. The measure increased tolls by $1 on state-owned bridges in the Bay Area.
The All Nighter service initially included County Connection Route 820, which operated between downtown Oakland and central Contra Costa County. This route was discontinued in December 2008 due to budgetary problems and low ridership.[2][3] It also included WHEELS Route 810, which operated between Bay Fair BART in San Leandro and Livermore via Dublin/Pleasanton BART. This route was discontinued in June 2009 due to budgetary problems and low ridership. Additional service from Bay Fair BART to Castro Valley BART via AC Transit Route 880 was discontinued in March 2010 due to that agency's budgetary problems.
Overnight transit service throughout the Bay Area predated the All Nighter initiative. Overnight service has consistently operated within San Francisco, but service outside of San Francisco has been volatile, rising and falling with the financial fortunes of the various transit agencies. AC Transit's long-standing overnight service was completely withdrawn in 1996[4] and then restored and expanded in later years. SamTrans introduced overnight service to SFO in 2001[5] and maintained it with a subsidy from the airport starting in 2003. VTA introduced overnight service on Route 22[6] and the light rail network, but later withdrew overnight light rail service due to financial difficulties. Golden Gate Transit, which had long offered an essentially 24-hour service on Route 80 to Santa Rosa, reduced the span of service in 2003. 24-hour service was one of the issues considered in the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Lifeline study, about the transportation needs of economically disadvantaged individuals.[7]
Service in Contra Costa and Alameda counties (including Alameda, Berkeley, Fremont, Hayward, Oakland, Richmond and San Leandro) is provided by AC Transit. AC Transit also operates Transbay service to and from San Francisco over the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge.
Service in San Francisco is provided by the San Francisco Municipal Railway. Service on the Peninsula is provided by SamTrans in San Mateo County with connections to San Francisco and Palo Alto. Service in the South Bay is provided by the VTA in Santa Clara County between Palo Altos and San Jose.
All Nighter service generally operates daily between midnight and 5 a.m. AC Transit's Transbay service operates until 6 a.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. on Sundays and designated holidays to correspond with the times BART is not operating. The 511.org trip planner does not work for trips beginning and ending around 4 a.m. due to programming limitations, so it is advisable to plan trips using All Nighter routes by hand.
The All Nighter network officially consists of 21 bus routes.[8]
| Route | Communities served | Information |
|---|---|---|
| Muni | ||
| K-Ingleside Owl | Downtown, Civic Center, Castro, Twin Peaks, Forest Hill, West Portal, Ingleside Although officially considered part of the All Nighter network, this route has limited service and does not operate during traditional owl hours. |
Schedule, Map |
| L-Taraval Owl | Downtown, Civic Center, Castro, Twin Peaks, Forest Hill, West Portal, Parkside, Ocean Beach | Schedule, Map |
| M-Ocean View Owl | Downtown, Civic Center, Castro, Twin Peaks, Forest Hill, West Portal, Ocean View Although officially considered part of the All Nighter network, this route has limited service and does not operate during traditional owl hours. |
Schedule, Map |
| N-Judah Owl | South of Market, South Beach, Downtown, Civic Center, Duboce Triangle, Haight, Inner Sunset, Outer Sunset, Ocean Beach | Schedule, Map |
| T-Third Owl | Civic Center, Downtown, South Beach, South of Market, Mission Bay, Dogpatch, Bayview, Sunnydale Although officially considered part of the All Nighter network, this route has limited service and does not operate during traditional owl hours. |
Schedule, Map |
| 5-Fulton | Civic Center, Fillmore, NoPa, Inner Richmond, Outer Richmond, Ocean Beach | Schedule, Map |
| 14-Mission | South of Market, Mission District, Bernal Heights, Excelsior, Daly City | Schedule, Map |
| 22-Fillmore | Marina, Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights, Fillmore, Mission District, Potrero Hill, Dogpatch | Schedule, Map |
| 24-Divisadero | Castro, Noe Valley, Bernal Heights | Schedule, Map |
| 38-Geary | Transbay Terminal, Downtown, Union Square, Tenderloin, Western Addition, Japantown, Laurel Heights, Inner Richmond, Outer Richmond | Schedule, Map |
| 90 Owl | Marina, Civic Center, South of Market, Mission District, Portola, Visitacion Valley Combination of the 9-San Bruno and 47-Van Ness daytime bus lines. |
Schedule, Map |
| 91 Owl | Parkmerced, Parkside, Sunset, Richmond, Marina, Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach, Chinatown, Downtown, SoMa, Dogpatch, Bayview, Visitacion Valley, Excelsior, Ingleside, St. Francis Wood, West Portal Combination of the 28-19th Avenue, 30-Stockton, T-Third, 8X-Bayshore Express, and K-Ingleside daytime bus and streetcar lines. |
Schedule, Map |
| 108-Treasure Island | Transbay Terminal, Treasure Island | Schedule, Map |
| AC Transit | ||
| 376 | El Cerrito, Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole Not officially part of the All Nighter network, but it operates until about 3:30 a.m. |
Schedule, Map |
| 800 | San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, Richmond | Schedule, Map |
| 801 | Oakland, San Leandro, Hayward, Union City, Fremont | Schedule, Map (Northern portion), Map (Southern portion) |
| 802 | Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley | Schedule, Map |
| 805 | Oakland, Oakland International Airport | Schedule, Map |
| 840 | Oakland | Schedule, Map |
| 851 | Alameda, Oakland, Berkeley | Schedule, Map |
| SamTrans | ||
| 297 | Redwood City, East Palo Alto, Palo Alto Not officially part of the All Nighter network, but it is a supplemental service for Route 397. |
Schedule and Map |
| 397 | San Francisco, Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Francisco International Airport, Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, East Palo Alto, Palo Alto | Schedule and Map |
| VTA | ||
| 22 | Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San Jose | Schedule, Map |
The All Nighter network has two primary pulse transfer points where routes are coordinated to meet and provide direct transfers.
The primary transfer point in San Francisco is at Market Street and Van Ness Avenue. Timed transfers are available between Muni's L Owl and 90 San Bruno Owl lines, AC Transit Route 800, and SamTrans Route 397. Muni's N Owl line stops here as well, but without any timed transfers to other All Nighter buses.
The primary transfer point in downtown Oakland is at Broadway and 14th Street. Timed transfers are available between AC Transit Routes 800, 801, 802, 805, 840, and 851.
Secondary timed transfer points are located at seven different locations in San Francisco. These locations are:
Three routes have been discontinued since All Nighter service was implemented. County Connection Route 820 was discontinued effective December 28, 2008.[9] Route 820 operated between downtown Oakland and Concord BART. WHEELS Route 810 was discontinued effective June 27, 2009.[10] Route 810 operated between Bay Fair BART and Livermore via Dublin/Pleasanton BART. AC Transit Route 880 was discontinued effective March 28, 2010. Route 880 operated between Bay Fair BART and Castro Valley BART.
Currently, no overnight service is provided to Marin and Sonoma Counties by Golden Gate Transit, to northwestern Contra Costa County in the WestCAT service area, to eastern Contra Costa County in the Tri-Delta Transit and County Connection service areas, and to Solano County in the Vallejo Transit service area. Furthermore, no overnight bus service is provided between Fremont BART and Downtown San Jose, preventing the circumnavigation of San Francisco Bay. Among the Bay Area's bridges, only the San Francisco Bay Bridge has All Nighter service, connecting San Francisco and Oakland.
